In many developing countries, natural resources including lakes, rivers, rang elands and forests have diverse groups of users. Pressure on these "common pool resources" is increasing. Further, sustainable management is especially complicated where there is a mixture of traditional and 'modern' authority systems. This can create confusion not only about user rights but also about who has the right to enforce rules and regulations. To prevent overuse and resource degradation, robust management systems will be needed.

One solution is co-management: involving the community of users at local level in decision making related to the resources. Achieving mutual understanding, supported by formal agreements both among users and between users and government, is a vital part of co-management. "Co-managing the Commons" addresses the many issues that must be faced. Case studies from Mali and Zambia provide specific illustrations of possible pathways to cooperation; a final chapter explores some of the commonalities in these studies and sums up lessons about ways to facilitate collaborative management.